Major crackdown on speeding

RCMP has written four times more tickets in Stratford so far this year

The RCMP is beginning to crack down on those who speed in Stratford in a big way.

At the recent town council meeting, the national police force reported that the number of speeding tickets issued so far in 2018 far exceeds those handed out in the first three months of last year.

For the January to March period this year, the RCMP issued 207 this year compared to just 45 written during the same time period last year.

That’s more than four times the tickets written this year than last.

For further comparison, RCMP issued 69 speeding tickets during the January to March period in 2016.

Stratford Mayor David Dunphy is obviously pleased to see the results.

“Safety on our streets has been identified as an issue, and we’ve met with the RCMP and they’ve committed to being more proactive and the proof is in the pudding,’’ said Dunphy.

Council has also awarded the contract tender for the new skateboard park to Propour Concrete Services Inc. in the amount of $332,400. Council has been trying to get a skateboard park off the ground for years.

“We’re actually at the point where somebody is actually going to do something,’’ Dunphy said.

Construction is set to begin in May with a tentative completion date around August. It will be located just in from of town hall.

In other council news, transit ridership was up in March to 122 riders per day compared to 102 per day in March 2017.

Council also discussed a booming economy in the town.

Dunphy said for the three months ending March 31, development permits total $8.8 million compared to $2.4 million for the same time period a year ago.

The mayor credits much of that for a $3.6 million apartment under construction on the Stratford Road.

Stratford’s utility also had its loan approved with TD Bank being the lowest bidder from seven financial institutions. The loan is for $1.87 million with a 20-year amortization at 3.81 per cent.

The loan covers the utility’s portion of 2017 government funded capital projects, including Eastern Realities Phase 1 and Phase 2 water project, the Hopeton Road water project, phase 1 of the metering project and small capital projects.

Council also went through second reading and adopted an amendment which allows for a universal water metering program and includes a penalty for parties who refuse to install a water meter.

“Your billing is going to be tied to your consumption (of water),’’ Dunphy said.

“If you conserve water, then that means less water is going to the sewage lagoons (and) to the sewage system in Charlottetown eventually, which reduces our costs. It’s a fairer way of billing customers for water usage.’’